It’s Tournament Time!

Posted  3/9/2006
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The Connecticut Department of Transportation recently erected signs on I-91 and I-84 proclaiming that the Hartford Hawks are the 2005 America East women's basketball champions. Vice President of University Relations John Carson requested the signs after Hartford won the title last year. He hopes to be able to ask for a second set of signs after this weekend's tournament.
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This sign is located at the South Main Street exit on I-84 East in West Hartford. The photo at the top of the page was taken on I-91 South, at Exit 35B (Route 218).
The No. 1 Hartford women will begin their quest for a second consecutive America East title on Friday, March 10, at 6 p.m. – and students can attend the game for free!

The 2006 Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Women’s Basketball Championship opens today on the University of Hartford campus. This is the fifth consecutive year that Hartford is hosting the tournament. All games will be played at the Chase Arena in the Reich Family Pavilion (Sports Center).

The Hartford Hawks enter the nine-team tournament as the No. 1 seed, having just finished their best regular season ever. Hartford Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti and her players are hoping to defend their 2005 America East title and receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. If they succeed, it would be the Hawks' second consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament, and their third in the past five years.

The America East tournament gets under way with a first-round game at 7 p.m. tonight between No. 8 Maine and No. 9 Albany. Quarterfinal games will take place on Friday afternoon and evening. Hartford will play the winner of the Maine/Albany game on Friday at 6 p.m.

There will be two semifinal games on Saturday, beginning at 1 p.m. If the Hawks advance to the semifinals, they will play in the second game, at approximately 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The championship game will take place on Sunday at 2 p.m.


Ticket Information
Tickets to all games are now on sale. University of Hartford students can attend all tournament games in which the Hawks play for FREE, courtesy of the Office of Student Affairs and the President’s Office. Students can pick up their free tickets for Friday’s game today and tomorrow between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. at the Athletics Box Office in the Sports Center. Be sure to bring your student ID.

If the Hawks win on Friday, students can pick up free tickets for Saturday’s semifinal game at the Athletics Box Office. And if Hartford wins on Saturday, students can then pick up free tickets for Sunday’s championship game. Again, please remember to bring your student ID when picking up tickets.

Tickets can be purchased for any individual session or for the entire tournament. Single session ticket prices range from $4 to $11 for youths and from $8 to $18 for adults. For tickets or information, stop by the Athletics Box Office in the Reich Family Pavilion, call the box office at 860.768.4295, or order tickets online at www.hartfordhawks.com.


Following the Games
If you want to follow the action but you can't attend the tournament, you can still keep up with the Hawks. Any games in which the Hartford women play will be broadcast live on WWUH radio (91.3 FM) or www.wwuh.org.

Both the semifinal and championship round games will be televised live on FOX Sports New England.

In addition, you can get live statistics for all the tournament games on the America East website, at www.americaeast.com.